Great Lakes ADA Center

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Great Lakes ADA Center

The Great Lakes ADA Center provides information, guidance & training on the ADA. The Great Lakes ADA Center is a member of the ADA National Network.

The ADA National Network consists of ten Regional ADA National Network Centers located throughout the United States that provide personalized, local assistance to ensure that the ADA is implemented wherever possible. We are not an enforcement or regulatory agency, but a helpful resource supporting the ADA’s mission to “make it possible for everyone with a disability to live a life of freedom and equality.”

We aim to create a safe space for our community to discuss ADA rights and responsibilities. To maintain a respectful dialogue, please refrain from social media comments that are hateful, defamatory, discriminatory, personal attacks, profanity, and aggressive behavior. Please review our social media guidelines: bit.ly/guidelines-sm.

09/16/2026

September is National Recovery Month! Many people in recovery from addiction are unaware of their civil rights under the ADA. Under certain circumstances, the ADA protects individuals with alcohol use disorders and substance use disorders, including people in recovery from opioids and other drugs, from discrimination in employment, state and local government programs, and places or services open to the public.

How does the ADA define disability in the context of addiction and recovery?
What ADA protections apply to addiction and recovery?

Check out these resources from the ADA National Network to learn more and find answers to these questions: Linktr.ee/AddictionADA.

09/15/2026

Register for our upcoming webinar with the U.S. Access Board titled "US Digital Accessibility Laws and Resources: Follow-Up Q&A."

During the July webinar, "US Digital Accessibility: Laws, Resources, and Real-World Insights," attendees submitted more questions than we had time to address. To continue the conversation, our presenters are returning for a follow-up session focused on answering the questions about Section 508 and ADA Title 2 Web and Mobile Applications Accessibility.

Date: Tuesday, September 22, 2026
Time: 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM Eastern Time Zone
Registration required: bit.ly/4halCq6

Registration closes one day before the webinar or when capacity is reached.

09/14/2026

Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act covers employment. Which employers are covered by Title I? Visit our website to find out: https://adata.org/faq/which-employers-are-covered-title-i-ada

09/13/2026

Stay connected! Follow the Great Lakes ADA Center on LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram for the latest news and updates about the ADA and our Center. Don't miss out on valuable information!

Find us on social media: linktr.ee/GLAC5.

09/12/2026

Mark your calendar for the upcoming release of "Being Heumann" in select U.S. theaters on November 6 and on Apple TV worldwide on November 13, 2026.

The movie tells the story of Judy Heumann, based on her bestselling autobiography, "Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist." The film highlights Heumann’s role in organizing disabled activists during the 1977 occupation of the San Francisco Federal Building. Hundreds of people with disabilities refused to leave until the federal government implemented regulations for Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Section 504 is a foundational U.S. disability civil rights provision that prohibits disability discrimination in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance. The 1977 protest is widely recognized as a pivotal action in the modern U.S. disability rights movement.

Learn more about the Section 504 protests of the 1970s: s.si.edu/3SAOjV2

09/11/2026

Watch our previous webinar titled "Accessible Storytelling for Film & Video."

This session explored three key ADA video accessibility requirements: closed captions, visual description, and transcripts. Our speaker discussed best practices for the creation of high-quality media accessibility assets and introduced some DIY tools for institutions interested in creating in-house accessibility workflows.

Watch this webinar: bit.ly/4cAhX3k

09/10/2026

Don't forget to register for our upcoming accessible technology webinar, “Effective Tools for Making Your STEM Content Accessible.”

Most accessibility guidance stops at alt text, but STEM content often raises more complex questions. A quadratic equation, a scatter plot, a chemical structure, an anatomy diagram, and a geographic map can each create different accessibility barriers, and each may require a different tool or approach to address them. No single platform covers all of these needs yet, so making STEM content accessible often means assembling a set of tools.

In this session, our speaker, Brandon Biggs, CEO of XR Navigation, will walk through common accessibility barriers in science, technology, engineering, and math content and pair each barrier with tools that can help address it.

Date: Thursday, September 17, 2026
Time: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM Eastern Time Zone
Registration required: bit.ly/accessible-stem

Registration closes one day before the webinar or when capacity is reached.

09/09/2026

September is Deaf Awareness Month, which aims to educate the public about contemporary issues, cultural practices within the Deaf community, and the importance of sign language education.

Check out these resources to learn more about Deaf Awareness Month and how to support the Deaf community:

Learn more about Deaf Awareness Month: bit.ly/4cAxEHX

iCanConnect: A federal program providing free communication devices and training for low-income individuals who are DeafBlind or have significant hearing and vision loss. iCanConnect.org.

National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes' Self-Advocacy Toolkit: Guides deaf students on rights, accommodations, and advocacy strategies. bit.ly/ndc-toolkit.

A variety of resources for learning American Sign Language (ASL): Linktr.ee/ASLearn.

"I am Deaf" Card from the Great Lakes ADA Center: Business card–sized resource on ADA obligations for accessible and effective communication. Email us to get one for free: Linktr.ee/GLAC5

09/08/2026

Register for our upcoming webinar titled "The ADA at Work: Real Stories of Accommodation in Action."

In this session, Great Lakes ADA Center staff share memorable technical assistance calls that reveal the messy, human side of accommodation requests. From transportation barriers and service animals to parking, job coaches, policy modifications, and ADA leave, these stories show how Title I plays out on the ground—and what strategies actually work when compliance meets real-world challenges.

Date: Tuesday, September 15, 2026
Time: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM Eastern Time Zone
Registration required: bit.ly/4ynwojD

Registration closes one day before the webinar or when capacity is reached.

09/07/2026

According to 2025 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for people with disabilities is twice the rate for people without disabilities.

Based on 2024 survey data from Disability Solutions, some barriers to employment that people with disabilities experience include inaccessible application technology, difficulty requesting accommodations throughout the application and interview process, and hiring bias.

Under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), people with disabilities are protected from discrimination in hiring, employment, and other workplace practices. The ADA also protects the right to request reasonable accommodations that enable qualified applicants to apply for jobs and qualified employees to perform the essential functions of their jobs.

Learn more: Linktr.ee/DisabilityWork

Address

1640 W Roosevelt Road, Rm 405
Chicago, IL
60608

Telephone

+18009494232

Website

https://Linktr.ee/GLAC5

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